There was nothing intentional about the Pascal Siakam elbow that gave NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid an orbital fracture (and concussion) during Game 6 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid was staggered on the play, but it appeared to be just another instance of a hard day at work for the Sixers center, protecting the rim against his fellow Cameroonian Siakam. Later it was revealed that, while the Sixers knocked the Raptors out of the playoffs, Siakam had also knocked out Embiid — at least for one game, probably more.
The play where Joel Embiid got injured pic.twitter.com/GYWDUxupoU
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 30, 2022
Embiid’s concussion means he’ll be in protocols for at least five days. That forces him to miss Game 1 of the second round series against the Miami Heat on Sunday. After that, it’ll likely be the fracture that dictates when (and if) Embiid can return. There is currently no timetable.
If the history of great 76ers centers is a omen, Philadelphia fans have reason to worry. In 1986, his last season with the 76ers, 3x NBA MVP Moses Malone suffered an orbital fracture during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks in late March and missed the rest of the season and all of the postseason. Traded to Washington in the offseason, Malone never played another game for Philly.
Dr. Christopher F. Viozzi, chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Rochester, Minnesota, describes orbital injuries as increasingly common among athletes. “Today, our sports activities have become higher velocity and significantly higher risk, so we tend to see more orbital fractures and ocular injuries now than in the past.”
The Mayo clinic also says: “Most patients with any form of facial fracture — such as orbital — will experience moderate to severe pain, which needs to be managed. This is due to a relatively high density of sensory pain fibers in the facial and orbital regions, thus making pain symptoms significant.”
